Never Let Go
by Lola-Ladybug13
Summary: Never look back, never look down, and never let go. Post-season 5 finale, possible season 6 spoilers, will possibly follow some season 6 s/l. D/L, some Smacked, and eventually Flack/OC.
1. Chapter 1

**Never look back, never look down, and never let go. Post-season 5 finale, possible season 6 spoilers, will possibly follow some season 6 s/l. D/L, some Smacked, and eventually Flack/OC. Rated M for language and possible later chapters.**

**A/N: This is my first ever attempt at writing fanfiction, so reviews and pointers would be greatly appreciated, but please don't be too harsh. =] I hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I don not own CSI:NY or any of the charcters or storylines seen on the show. haha I WISH! This is done purely for the entertainment of myself and hopefully my readers, i gain no other profit from it. =]**

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Chapter 1

The Hits Just Keep On Coming

_You have got to be kidding me! _Don Flack thought, standing outside of the Emergency Room doors.

He took a deep breath and walked through. Once inside, he wanted to do nothing else but turn around and walk back out.

_No, Danny and Lindsay need me. _Don kept telling himself, again and again, until he could force himself to walk down that hallway.

This night had been the worst night of his life, following some of the worst days of his life. They even beat the day he got trapped in the building with the bomb, because at least he couldn't remember most of that.

It didn't matter that they had found the guys who killed Jess; it didn't even matter that he had killed the one that had put the killer bullet through her, she was still gone. And now he was back in the hospital she had died in, and his best friend was in surgery, trying to save the use of his legs.

The team had all gone down to Sullivan's to "celebrate Jessica Angell's life", but they all new that Flack had only gone to get drunk and forget everything that had happened.

Then, in the middle of Stella's heartbreaking toast, some asshole drove by and gunned down the bar.

Those moments seemed to pass in slow motion, and the entire time, Flack could only think two things:

_Maybe if I get hit, I'll die and all the pain will go away._ And,

_Please don't let me lose one of these people; I won't be able to handle it._

But, of course, someone was hit, and it just happened to be Danny. Yes, Flack loved every one of the team members and he would be heartbroken to lose any one of them, but Danny was his best friend, and him dying would undoubtedly push Don over the edge.

Luckily, Danny was alive, but in his instinct to protect his wife, he had taken a bullet to the spine.

As Flack made his way to the waiting room, he couldn't help but reflect over his conflicting thoughts.

_I want to thank God for keeping Danny alive, but I want to curse Him for taking Jess away from me._

Don had never been overtly religious but he had always believed in God, and the idea that everything happens for a reason, but where is the reason in taking Jess away from him?

_Alright, enough with these thoughts. I need to focus on being here for Danny and Lindsay, in any way I can._

Don walked the rest of the way to the waiting room with his head held high, determined to be strong.

When Don walked into the room, almost all eyes turned to him. Stella and Adam, who were sitting on one of the couches, looked up at him with sympathetic eyes. Hawkes and Sid, who were both chatting with a nurse, surely about medical stuff which he would never understand, glanced up, and Hawkes just gave him a solemn nod. The only person who didn't acknowledge his arrival was Mac, who was currently holding Lucy Messer.

Don smiled slightly at the sight of Mac and Lucy, just as he did every time he saw them having a "Lucy moment", as Flack had named it. Lucy mostly reserved those moments for her parents and Mac, but every once in a while Don would have one of those moments and it was a much cherished thing among the family that was his team. The first time he had witnessed a "Lucy moment" Flack had asked Mac why he was so intently staring into Lucy's eyes, because he was perplexed and slightly shocked that anyone could keep her attention for that long.

Mac had told him, _In those eyes, you can see trust and love that is so incredibly unconditional that it's hard to look away. In her eyes, you can see everything that is right with the world._

Since that day, he had noticed that unless something very important needed their attention, not one person on the team could find it in their heart to look away from Lucy Messer's intent gaze until she blinked. Sometimes he found himself amazed with how long Lucy would go without blinking or looking away, just as she was intently focused on Mac right now. It was as if she could sense the emotions in the room and that everyone needed a little reminder of the right in the world.

And with that, Lucy blinked and Mac looked up at Don and smiled the lightest of smiles, almost as if to say, _Lucy's right._

Without a word spoken between them, Mac handed Lucy off to Don. Mac went in search of coffee and Don took his seat, and instantly became entranced in Lucy's gaze. Lucy held Don's gaze until her eyes started to droop, and he just enjoyed the warmth and softness of the baby girl in his arms.

"I'm surprised it took her this long to fall asleep." Stella said quietly, as she sat down in the chair next to Don.

"Yeah, it's a bit late for her to be awake." Don replied.

"Not only that, she's been giving everyone their fair share of 'Lucy moments'."

"Do you think she knows? I mean, I know she's just a baby, but I feel like she understands what's going on."

"I get what you mean. I think most babies can sense emotions, but she's really tuned in to all of us. Don, I think you should go home."

"No, Danny and Lindsay need me here."

"You've been through a lot and I'm sure they would understand if you went home."

"There are three reasons I can't and won't go home."

"Are you going to enlighten me?"

"My place smells like Jess. These past few months have been amazing. I don't think we've spent a night apart for the past three weeks, and I'm not sure I could handle being in my place right now."

"Okay, I understand that. The other two reasons?"

"Well, I have to see for myself that Mr. Invincible Danny Messer is alright. And, I need to talk to Lindsay. She's not just a co-worker or my best friend's wife, anymore. She's my second best friend, and she was also really close with Jess. Plus, she's got this way about her. Whenever I'm down she gives me her sympathy but she doesn't let me feel sorry for myself, and then she always finds a way to make me laugh. I don't really know how to explain it."

"I completely understand." Stella agrees, "Lindsay Monroe is our little family's buoy. I don't know how she does it without drowning herself, but she keeps us afloat."

"Exactly."

Just then, Lucy stirred. She opened her eyes and instantly reached for Stella. As Don handed the baby over, Lucy reached up and put her hand to his cheek, and made an mm mm sound.

Stella lightly chuckled and said, "I think she's telling you to go talk to her Mama."

"Okay, I will."

Just as he was getting up, Mac walked back into the room with Adam in tow and two trays full of coffee.

"Here," Mac said, handing Don two steaming cups, "Last time I saw her she was just around the corner and down by the surgery doors."

"Alright thanks. Um, do you really think coffee from the hospital cafeteria is such a good idea?" Flack tried to lighten the mood, before he left the room.

"It's from the coffee shop on the next block, Don, now go."

Don took one last look around the waiting room, and noticed the slight smiles on everyone's faces.

_It worked. Yeah, this is family. Now, we're just missing our buoy and our wiseass. _Don thought, and sadly added, _and our angel. God, I miss her._

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**A/N: Thank you for reading the first chapter. Let me know what you think. =]**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm really happy with the response I received from the first chapter of this story, so on with it... Special thanks to Forest Angel, megann310, ioanhoratio, JavaJunkie4evr, and everyone who added this to their favorites and/or alerts. Thanks so much for your support!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own CSI:NY or any of the charcters and/or storylines seen on the show.[haha I WISH!] This is done purely for the entertainment of myself and hopefully my readers; I gain no other profit from it. =]**

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Chapter 2

What Am I Gonna Do?

_I'm sure everyone who can see me right now thinks I'm nuts._ Lindsay thought as she paced across the hallway of the hospital in her bare feet.

In the hour since she had arrived at the hospital, she had had a panic attack, had collapsed in her boss's arms, and then calmed down enough to realize that her shirt was covered in bloody handprints from herself and her husband, but it was all Danny's blood. She even had some in her hair.

One of the nurses had offered to take her to their locker room so she could have a quick shower but she refused the leave that hallway, so she ended up rinsing her hair in the sink at the nurses' station, so she could still see the doors that lead to the surgery room where her husband was. Then she took off her bloody shirt and was now wearing her thin camisole and Danny's jacket, which had been on the back of a chair at one of the nearby tables in Sullivan's so it had managed to not get covered in blood, and still smelled like him.

Then began the pacing. First, she paced up and down the hallway, but decided that that took her too far away from the doors that stood between her and Danny. Then, she decided to pace across the hall from wall to wall. After she had done that for a while, her feet began to hurt because she was still wearing the high-heeled boots that she had been wearing since six am this morning, so she decided to take them off. After sliding across the floor in her socks while trying to pace, they were shed too.

_Maybe I should be with the team and Lucy in the waiting room..._ she thought, but she just couldn't tear herself away from the doors.

Lindsay began pacing faster with her head hanging down, fighting against the tears trying to escape.

"You're gonna make yourself dizzy, you know." Flack said as he watched the petite woman in front of him.

Lindsay looked up and saw the sad attempt at a smile on Don's face, and everything that had happened in the past few days came rushing back to her.

"Oh, Jess." It was nothing more than a whisper but Don heard Lindsay say it as she leaned back against the wall and slid down it until she was sitting with her knees pulled to her chest and let one tear slide down her cheek.

The sight would've broken Don's heart if it wasn't already shattered.

He walked over to her, placing the coffees down on a nearby table. He sat down next to her and put his arm around her, squeezing her arm in support. That opened the floodgates for her, and she couldn't control the constant flow of tears.

_If I wasn't completely dried out, I would probably be crying just as much as her. _Don thought to himself.

Neither of them knew how long they sat like that or when Lindsay had stopped crying, because they were both lost in their own thoughts.

"I'm sorry." Lindsay finally broke the silence.

"What? Why should you be sorry?" Don was confused.

"You just lost the woman you love and I completely broke down on you just now. I'm a horrible friend."

"Don't you dare, Lindsay Monroe Messer."

"What?" Lindsay suddenly felt like a teenager being scolded for talking back to her parents.

"Do not apologize to me. Your husband is in surgery right now, you were just involved in a shooting, and you just lost Jess, too." Don explained.

"I could say the same to you. Your best friend is in surgery, you were, also, just involved in a shooting, and you lost Jess."

"That doesn't mean you should apologize to me for breaking down, and relying on me as a friend. You wanna know what I was thinking while you were crying?"

"What?"

"That if I hadn't already cried myself out that I would've been crying right along with you."

"But it's my fault everyone is here."

"Lindsay, are you trying to tell me something? Did you hire that psycho to open fire on a bar full of cops?"

"No, but Danny got hit because he was protecting me."

"And if he hadn't done that you would've been hit and we would all be here for you, just like we would be no matter who did or didn't get hit."

"I guess you're right. I just don't know what to do. I'm completely helpless here, Don. I can't do anything for Danny. I can't do anything for you. I can't do anything for anyone. I guess I figured that if I made apologies I would at least be doing something."

"What, so that they can have the same argument that I just gave you?" Don teased.

"It's just that, no one has had the chance to really mourn Jess, and now they're all here worried about Danny."

"It's better than having to mourn Danny, also. Lindsay, I saw how you and Jess were together. I think it's safe to say that you were her best friend, and I can see how much she meant to you, and of course we all know what Danny means to you. You also need to know how much you mean to all of us. We're a family, Lindsay. Not just the NYPD family but our own team is a family, and family sticks together; and we will mourn together, when it's right." Don explained.

"Yeah, thank you for that."

"Thank your daughter. You know I could never be this insightful without the 'Lucy moments'."

Lindsay laughed at the now commonly used phrase.

They just sat and enjoyed each other's company until Lindsay saw a doctor walk by and she tensed up, which Don noticed. When Lindsay saw the look Don was giving her she just sighed.

"What am I gonna do?" she asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"The doctor said that there's a fifteen percent chance Danny won't ever be able to walk again, an eighty-four percent chance he'll be in a wheelchair for six to eight months, and a one percent chance that he'll make a full and fast recovery and only need the chair for about a week. How am I going to care for him, when you know how stubborn he is?" Lindsay explained.

"Well, there you go."

"Huh?"

"You just said it, Linds. You know how stubborn he is. He's Danny Messer! That wiseass is gonna be in the one percent." Don laughed.

"Knowing him, you're probably right. I hope so. Thanks Flack." Lindsay gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"This is definitely not how I thought this conversation was going to go."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I came to see if you could cheer me up, which you did so don't even think about apologizing. However, I thought I was gonna be selfish and be the only one receiving help."

"Sometimes even the buoy needs help staying afloat."

"What did you just say?" Don asked shocked.

"Oh please, you know how loud our little family is. I could hear every word being said in that waiting room." Lindsay laughed, "You're just lucky you guys were saying all nice things."

"What bad could we say about you, Monroe, I mean, Messer? Now your husband on the other hand…"

"Watch it, Flack." Lindsay warned as she slapped his arm.

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Neither of them noticed the two people watching the exchange.

Mac saw two of his detectives cheering each other up, and couldn't help but smile.

Danny was still groggy as he was being wheeled toward his room, but he could just see through the windows leading from the surgery wing down the hall, and he was extremely happy with what he saw. His best friend and his wife both smiling, a sight that he was definitely glad to wake up to.

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**A/N: Well, there it is, chapter 2. Please let me know what you think. Reviews are greatly appreciated! =]**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to post, I'm in the habit of not posting a chapter until I have the following chapter at least written, and chapter 4 was giving me some difficulties, but here it is I hope you enjoy it... Thank you to everyone who has added this story and/or me to their alerts and/or favorites. Special thanks to: uscrocks, Forest Angel, BlueEyedAuthor, and LME for your wonderful reviews. And special special thanks to Brinchen86 for the amazing encouragement and inspiration. I hope you all continue to enjoy this. xD**

**Disclaimer: I do not own CSI:NY or any of the characters and/or storylines seen on the show.[haha I WISH!] This is done purely for the entertainment of myself and hopefully my readers; I gain no other profit from it. =]**

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Chapter 3

I Need Her

Don and Lindsay just kept talking, about nothing in particular, and drinking their coffees. Even though Don could see her visibly relaxing, Lindsay still watched every doctor that walked by.

"I think that one's the one we're looking for." Don whispered to Lindsay, motioning towards a doctor who was headed down the hall straight towards them. Don stood up and offered Lindsay his hand to help her stand up.

"Thanks." Lindsay said as she bent down to put her shoes back on.

"Mrs. Messer?" the young doctor asked, looking at Lindsay, as she straightened up again.

"That's me. Is Danny out of surgery now? Can we see him?"

"My name is Dr. Linderson. He is out of surgery and they're preparing him in a room. I would like to talk to you about the surgery." the doctor replied, then looked to Don, "Could you excuse us for a minute?"

"Sure..." Don replied.

"Wait, no." Lindsay said, putting her hand on Don's arm, then turning to the doctor, "I don't mind him hearing any of this, and I know Danny wouldn't either. Honestly, I kind of need him here, if that's okay."

"Of course." Dr. Linderson agreed. "We went in..."

Lindsay held up a hand to stop him, "If it's all the same to you, I trust whatever you did in surgery, I just want to know how he is and where we go from here, please."

"Yes, of course. The surgery went very well, and Danny is fine. He is awake and has already tried to get up to come find you. I have no doubt in my mind that he will make a quick and strong recovery. We will keep him overnight tonight and tomorrow night, and if he feels up to it, I would like for him to have his first physical therapy session here in the hospital tomorrow."

Lindsay was shocked and relieved, and honestly, a bit confused. "Is it normal to start physical therapy so soon?"

The doctor smiled, "No, but your husband is not a normal patient. He is of wonderful health, and quite a healthy attitude after what he's been through. I get the feeling that whether I agree with it or not, he will be walking again before he leaves here, so I would like to start therapy immediately to ensure that it is done safely."

Don chuckled at that, trying to hide it with a cough. _He was shot in the spine and he's still being stubborn as hell._

Lindsay smiled, "You're telling me that he's part of that one percent you told me about earlier?"

Dr. Linderson couldn't help but smile, "Yes, indeed, I am." He loved it when his surgeries turned out this well and he could give the families such wonderful news. There was even more to come but he would save that for when he spoke to both of the Messers together.

"Can I see him?" Lindsay asked, anxious to see it for herself that Danny would be perfectly fine.

"Yes, of course. Nurse Fenmore here will show you to his room." He told her motioning towards a tall red-headed nurse walking towards them. "I will be there in a bit to speak with both you and Danny."

"You can call me Christina." The woman smiled at Lindsay and Don.

"Hi." Don smiled politely, then turned to Lindsay, "I'll go tell the rest of the team, and I'll give you and Danny some time alone."

"Thanks, Don. And you can tell everyone else that they can go home, and that includes you."

"Not a chance, Linds. The only place we will be moving to is a waiting room closer to where they have Danny staying. But, I'll tell them what you said, even though I know it's pointless."

"Thanks, Don." Lindsay said giving him a hug before turning to Christina, "Which way?"

"Follow me."

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Don walked back to the waiting room with a large grin on his face. As he turned the corner, he heard Stella give a relieved sigh.

"He's okay, right? And the outlook is good? Otherwise you wouldn't be smiling like that." Stella said to him.

"Yeah, he'll be absolutely fine. The doctor doesn't expect him to need the chair for more than a week. They're keeping him overnight tonight and tomorrow night, and he'll start physical therapy here tomorrow." Don explained.

"That's wonderful." Mac stated.

"Yeah, it is. Lindsay is headed in to see him now, I figured we could give them some time alone before we bombarded his room. Although, Lindsay told me to tell everyone that we should all go home."

Don hadn't even completely finished his sentence before he heard a collection of "no" and "not a chance".

"Yeah, that's what I figured. I told her the only place we would be moving to was a closer waiting room." Flack said with a grin.

"Alright, then, let's go find that waiting room." Hawkes said.

Stella stood up from her chair and pulled Don into a hug as everyone else collected their things and Mac went to speak to one of the nurses about where Danny's room was.

"You feeling better after talking to Lindsay?" she asked him.

"Yeah, turns out I was able to help her a bit, too." Don told Stella, "Oh, and she heard everything we said in that waiting room."

"How? Wha-"

"Oh, come on, Stel. You know how loud we are. I'm not all that surprised. Are you?"

"No, I guess not really." Stella laughed, "Alright, let's go."

With that, they followed the rest of the team down the hall.

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"It's room number 317 at the end of the hall." Christina directed Lindsay. "I'll be right over there at the nurse's station. If you need anything, you can come get me or use the pager on the side of his bed."

"Thank you." Lindsay said, then turned and continued down the hall. She turned the corner and broke out into a huge grin when she saw her husband sitting up in bed looking at her with those bright blue eyes.

"Well, hello, Miss Monroe." Danny flashed her the famous Messer grin, and then cleared his throat, "I'm sorry, uh, Mrs. Messer. That jacket looks very good on you."

With the fact that after being shot in the spine and going through a serious surgery, Danny was still trying to make her smile, Lindsay felt the familiar lump in her throat and tears began to well up in her eyes as she sniffed his jacket again, trying to comfort herself. Danny's heart broke at the sight of her trying to smile through the tears.

"Ah, Montana, come 'ere." he said patting the bed next to him, "Get in bed with me."

"I don't wanna hurt you." Lindsay said hesitantly perching herself on the edge of his bed.

"The only way you'll hurt me is if you don't let me cuddle with you, baby girl."

"Okay, Mr. I Don't Cuddle. If you insist." Lindsay teased laying down next to him as he wrapped his strong arms around her.

"Anything for you, Montana. Now, what's with the tears? You can see, I'm okay." Danny insisted, wiping Lindsay's tears away.

"I know, but, hon, I was so worried. Then, I come in here and you're sitting up looking at me in the most loving way, and my heart soared. It was just a release of all the emotion I went through today. I'm okay now, baby, I promise."

"Good." Danny agreed. "Now where's my other baby girl? Can you bring her in here?"

"Are you sure? I, mean, you know how fussy she gets, and with your legs..." Lindsay trailed off as she watched Danny. He was looking down with a slightly sad look on his face. "Hon, I'm just looking out for you. If you want her in here, she'll be in here."

"Yes, please. I need her." Danny said, finally looking up again and into his wife's eyes. "There's only two things in this world that I need right now, and neither have anything to do with my legs. I need her, and I need you."

"Okay, sweetie, of course. She's with the rest of our little family out there, and I'm sure they'll be charging the door any minute now, so if you don't mind, can we just enjoy each other and wait for them to bring her in here?" Lindsay looked up at him through her eyelashes.

"Yes, definitely." Danny said. Then lifting her chin and looking straight into her chocolate brown eyes, "Lindsay, I love you."

"I love you, too, Daniel Carmine Messer."

They kissed each other, through the kiss reconnecting after such a heartbreaking event. Then Danny smiled at her.

"You're the only person besides my mom who can get away with calling me that." Danny stated.

"That's why I do it, sweetie." Lindsay smiled, kissing him again before she snuggled back into his side.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Here's the next chapter, and I will try to post new chapters within a week of the previous one. Again, thank you to everyone reading this and who added the story and/or me to their favorites and/or alerts. Special thanks to uscrocks, LME, Brinchen86, and BlueEyedAuthor. On with the chapter... Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own CSI:NY or any of the characters and/or storylines seen on the show.[haha I WISH!] This is done purely for the entertainment of myself and hopefully my readers; I gain no other profit from it. =]**

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Chapter 4

Until Someday Comes

"So how are you feeling, hon? I mean, do your legs hurt?" Lindsay asked Danny, after a few minutes of just enjoying the warmth of being in his arms.

"They're okay. It burns a bit, up by my hips, the rest is just sore." Danny admitted, "It's a lot better than I thought."

"The doctor said he would be coming in to talk to us in a bit, so we'll ask about some pain medicine." Lindsay said, while Danny nodded, agreeing.

"It's really quiet right now, I'm surprised the rest of our family is taking so long to-" he was cut off by a knock, then Flack's head popped in the doorway. "Speakin' of..."

"Hey, if you two lovebirds are done with private time? I can only keep them out here for so long." Don joked.

"Get in here, knucklehead." Danny told him, "And bring my beautiful daughter and the rest of our family with you."

Then the room was full.

"We were hoping you would say that." Stella smiled as she handed Lucy to her father. "We're so happy to see you're okay."

The group talked about how happy they were that he would be alright, while Danny got lost in the eyes of his daughter as she lay in his arms clutching to the neck of his hospital gown, effectively pulling his face closer to her own. After a few minutes, Danny blew a raspberry on Lucy's cheek and the baby giggled.

_One of the most beautiful sounds in the world. _Danny thought.

The many conversations in the room were interrupted by a knock at the door. Dr. Linderson poked his head in the door.

_Wow, full house. _He thought.

"Come on in, Doc." Danny said, "They can all be here for anything you gotta say, I don't mind."

"Okay." the doctor said as he entered the room, "Well, as I told your wife, the surgery went very well, and we're hoping to start physical therapy tomorrow."

"That's great, Doc. I'll do whatever exercises ya got. Just two questions." Danny said.

"Of course."

"First, I've got some burning pain in my hips and I was wonderin' if I could get some meds for that? Second, when can I go back to work?" Danny asked.

"Danny..." Mac started.

"Mac, it's a question. I just wanna hear what he has to say before you start worrying about whether or not I'm gonna fight it, a'right?" Danny explained.

"Well, to answer your first question, yes, we can get you some pain medication. I'll let the nurse know once we're done here. As for your second question, I haven't had the chance to speak with your boss-"

Mac raised his hand, "That'd be me. I will go along with whatever you say, doctor."

To that Danny rolled his eyes, which Flack noticed, and again, had to hide his chuckle.

"Well, I think Mr. Messer will be pleased, I will agree to moderate lab work as soon as he feels comfortable. Of course, for the first week, I will want you in your chair, and then lab work work for two weeks following that, which you can work on your feet for limited amounts of time. So, as long as you attend all of your physical therapy sessions and check-ups, and are cleared by your boss and myself, you should be able to return to the field in about three weeks time." the doctor explained, pleased with the smile on Danny's face.

"So, you're sayin' that I can go to the lab, the day after I get out of here? As long as I promise to use the chair, of course." Danny smiled excited. "Damn, I thought I was gonna go stir crazy."

"As long as you take it easy, I don't see any problem with that." Dr. Linderson agreed.

"Oh, don't worry, doctor, we will **all** make sure he takes it easy." Flack assured him.

"Yeah." Lindsay agreed poking Danny in the chest as Lucy cooed in agreement, then giggled.

"Yeah, I know, I know. I've got about seven guard dogs." Danny stated, then Lucy grunted angrily, "haha, make that eight."

"Alright, good. So, I'll see you tomorrow morning in therapy, and I'll send Nurse Fenmore in with your medication in a bit." the doctor stated as he left the room.

When the door clicked shut Danny turned to his family. "Alright, I'm sure Lindsay already said this, but I've gotta do it." he paused, "I love you all, but go home!"

"No!" is what he received in reply.

"Listen guys, I know you were all worried, but now you can see I'm okay. Besides, if you guys want me to take it easy when I come back to work in two days, there's no way that's gonna happen if the shooting case is still open. So, that said, I think you should all go get some sleep, because you've got work to do in the mornin'." he smirked, he knew he had them.

Everyone looked at Mac who just sighed.

"Fine, we'll go, but don't expect that you won't have visitors the entire time you're in here. Lindsay, I don't expect to see you back in the lab until I see him back in the lab." he stated pointing to Danny, while Lindsay nodded, then turned to Flack, "I'll talk to Sinclair in the morning. I don't want you into work unless I call you about this case, Don."

"Alright, thanks, Mac." Don said.

"I'll walk you guys out." Lindsay said, getting up off Danny's bed, leaning down to kiss him on the cheek and whisper in his ear, "Talk to Flack. He needs you." then a bit louder, "I'll be back in a few."

Danny just nodded and watched his wife leave the room with the rest of the team, leaving him, Flack, and Lucy.

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Out in the hall, Lindsay said goodbye to the rest of the team, but Stella lingered.

"Hey, kiddo. How are you doing?" Stella asked Lindsay, putting her arm around her shoulders.

"Much better, actually. Now that I see Danny's alright and the doctor is optimistic, I'm not as worried. I was a mess an hour ago, though." Lindsay admitted.

"Well, you know how happy I am to know that he's alright. And just as much that you're alright."

"Yes, thank you. And even though I told you guys to go home, I'm really happy you stayed. It's good to know that you're all here and that now everyone can be sure that he's okay. I love you. And, I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" Lindsay stated.

"Yes, I love you too. We'll talk tomorrow. Try to get some rest. Your stubborn husband, too." Stella encouraged, before turning to leave.

_Thank God, this night is almost over. I'll give those guys a few more minutes. _Lindsay thought as she sat down and picked up a random tabloid magazine.

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"So... how are ya, buddy?" Danny asked after moments of silence.

"How am I? Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Don scoffed.

"Um, no." Danny replied.

Don just stared at him. "Look at us, two best friends who hate talking about their feelings. Then, we still expect the other to open up."

"I will, if you will. I'll go first as long as you look me in the eye and tell me you'll talk."

"Alright. Deal."

"Honestly, when I was lyin' on the floor of that bar, I was relieved. I was relieved that I was the one on the floor and that it wasn't any of you. I was also relieved that the daycare at the lab is open late, or else this little angel woulda been with us. Then, I was scared. Don, I'm a cop through and through, just like you. Sure, I can do the lab work, but I don't know what I would do if the doc told me I could never chase down another perp, that I couldn't work in the field anymore. Then, I thought about the fact that I just wanted to slip right into an angry depression, but then I thought about what that would do to my girls, and it broke my heart. So right then and there I decided that I would make it through this, no matter what, even if it meant only lab work for the rest of my life, as long as my girls are happy. Now, I'm thinking, thank god, I get both; I get to keep my girls happy and be a cop. I'm just feeling too thankful right now to feel much else. And I'm sorry for that, because I am upset about Jess. She was like a sister to me, and I am sad down deep inside, but all I can do right now is be thankful. And I feel horrible for that."

"Don't. She would want you to be thankful right now; I want you to be thankful right now, because I am. Yes, I feel like a piece of me is missing, but I still have my best friend and I can't help but be thankful for that. But, Danny, I can't go back to my place, I can't. Because it's filled with memories of her and if I go back there I **will** slip into an angry depression, and I can't do that right now. If I immerse myself in those memories now, I'll never mourn her properly, and I can't do that to myself because of what I know it would do to her to see me like that. I'll go back someday, I will, I just don't know when."

"Well, Lindsay and I have a spare bedroom in that big new apartment of ours. It's yours until someday comes. I'm sure Adam and Hawkes could go get some stuff for you and bring it to our place tomorrow."

"Thank you. It means a lot to have all of you supporting me." Don said

"Not a problem. Don't mention it." Danny said clapping Don on the shoulder.

"So, on a lighter note... We need a new bar. I can't go back there after tonight." Don joked.

"We'll figure somethin' out. That place changed anyway, they went and got all glitzy." Danny said.

Lindsay appeared in the doorway, "Leave it to you two to think about the bar. You're corrupting the mind of my daughter."

"I think it's a bit late to worry about that, Linds. You **did **marry this wiseass." Don teased.

"Language, Donald Sean." Lindsay scolded as Danny chuckled at the look on Don's face, "And don't thing I didn't hear the damn you threw in earlier, Daniel Carmine."

Danny just chuckled, "You're such a mom."

"You two can curse like sailors all you want, just not in front of my innocent little girl." Lindsay explained.

"Yeah, 'cause when she's not around you've got quite the sailor's mouth, too, Linds." Don teased.

"That's enough, wiseasses." Lindsay said.

"Lindsay Anne! Watch your mouth." The guys exclaimed at the same time, laughing.

The three just laughed together. It was a much needed light moment. Lucy slowly began falling asleep in Danny's lap.

"Flack, would you mind taking her home?" Danny asked, "I don't want her to have to sleep here, she only gets full nights of sleep in her crib. And you should be able to get some shut-eye."

"Sure. Not a problem. I'll be back in the morning with her for your physical therapy." Don said as he got up from his chair.

"There are clean sheets for the guest bed in the closet in the hall. And two bottles of formula in the fridge for her. If she wakes up in the middle of the night, she can have one, then another one when you wake up in the morning. And Don? Thank you. Our apartment is home for as long as you need it to be." Lindsay told him as she hugged him goodbye.

"Thank you. I love you guys. See you in the morning." Flack said walking out with a sleepy Lucy in his arms, passing Nurse Fenmore on his way out.

Christina gave Danny some pain pills and told him that they should last until morning but if not to press the call button on his bedside remote. Finally alone, Danny and Lindsay decided to get some rest. Lindsay curled up next to Danny in the bed and they both drifted off to sleep.

Flack drove Lucy to the Messer apartment, put her in her crib, made his bed, and fell asleep within moments of hitting the pillow.

All four slept through the night.

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**A/N: Please review. =]**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: To those of you who received a message from me, I wasn't trying to be anal about getting reviews, but after hearing that one person didn't receive an alert, I wanted to be sure you all knew the last chapter was up. Thank you to everyone who has added me/this story to their alerts/favorites. Special thanks to uscrocks, megann310, LME, and Brinchen86. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own CSI:NY or any of the characters and/or storylines seen on the show.[haha I WISH!] This is done purely for the entertainment of myself and hopefully my readers; I gain no other profit from it. =]**

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Chapter 5

I Wonder

_Jess! Jess! Hey, babe, hey! Stay with me, Jess! Stay with me!_

Don jolted up in bed and it took him a moment to realize where he was. Then the past day rushed back at him; Jess dieing, the search for her killers, him shooting the man who killed her, the shooting in the bar, Danny in the hospital, all of it. Don was overwhelmed by sadness as he remembered that Danny and Lindsay had offered him their guest room because he couldn't bear going back to his apartment. A quick glance at the cell phone vibrating on the nightstand told him that he forgot to turn off his daily six am alarm.

The next second Flack heard a quiet cry coming from down the hall. He flung back the covers of his bed and got up, heading to the source of the cry.

_If anyone will keep this day from being hell, it'll be her._ Don thought as he walked into Lucy Messer's nursery.

He peeked into her crib and the baby girl was staring up at him with sleepy blue eyes that mirrored her father's. Lucy gave her Uncle Don a big smile when he bent down to pick her up.

"Hey, there sweetie. It's still early, let's just rock in the chair, okay?" Don whispered to Lucy hoping he could get lost in the baby girl in his arms.

That is what he did. Don held Lucy in his arms and got lost in the ocean of her bright blue eyes, and forgot everything else happening around him, just as he did for every Lucy moment. After a few minutes Lucy's eyes were drooping a bit, so Don took the chance to look around the nursery. The walls were painted in pastel yellow, pink, and green stripes with a white chair rail running through the room, and all of the furniture was a light wood with dressing to match the colors on the walls. The nursery perfectly represented the three women who designed it. Don could remember the weekend clearly.

"_It's Danny and Lindsay's baby. I don't understand why the rest of us need to be here." Don complained as he drove to the hardware store with Jess, Adam, and Hawkes in his car. Mac was driving the Avalanche with Stella, Danny and Lindsay._

"_Yeah." Adam piped in while Hawkes chuckled at the younger man's pout._

_Jess laughed. "We have to be here because we're good friends and they need our help. It's not that bad." she explained to the guys._

"_When I agreed to this I didn't know there would be shopping involved." Don stated glaring at his girlfriend riding shotgun._

"_Yeah." Adam piped in again._

"_Shut it, Ross. Come on, hon, you know if I had mentioned shopping it would've been some sort of problem. Honestly, I don't see the big deal, Doc's not complaining, so what's with you two?" Jess questioned._

"_Yeah, what's with that Doc? You're makin' me look bad." Don said._

"_It's not my fault I listened. We're going to the hardware store to get paint, which the girls are going to pick out while we go next door to the baby store to get the furniture that Danny and Lindsay already have on layaway. Technically, we won't be doing any shopping." Sheldon explained, "Besides, when we get back to the apartment we're putting together furniture while the girls paint. It'll probably take them longer to paint than for us to do the furniture which means we have time to just relax. Then when it's all done, the wonderful couple is giving a nice little party up on the roof as thanks. I don't see much of a downside."_

"_Oh..." Adam began to smile "Works for me."_

"_See Detective Flack? If you had stopped your pouting for all of a millisecond, you would've known all that." Jess laughed._

"_Alright, you win Detective Angell. Do I get a consolation prize?" Flack asked as he parked the car._

_Jess grabbed him by the collar, pulling his face closer to hers and gave him a full passionate kiss on the mouth. _

"_Mmm... Maybe I should lose more often." Don mumbled against her lips as the kiss heated up._

"_Alright you two, we'll be out there." Hawkes said as Adam groaned and they both got out of the car._

_Don and Jess were lost in each other as their kiss became more and more passionate. Don's tongue begged for entrance into her mouth and Jess happily obliged. They quickly forgot where they were and how long they had been kissing._

_Outside the car, the members of the other car walked towards Adam and Hawkes._

"_Where's Jess and Don?" Stella asked the two men leaning against Don's car._

"_Um, their kinda busy at the moment, maybe we should just go do this, and uh, leave them alone." Adam said shifting from foot to foot._

"_Yeah, it was getting kinda heated in there..." Hawkes added._

_Stella and Mac just looked at each other shaking their heads, while Lindsay giggled and Danny got a mischievous grin on his face._

"_Naw, I got this." Danny said walking over to the silver sedan and knocking on the tinted passenger window, "Oh, detectives..." he yelled._

_The window rolled down and Jess looked up at Danny wiping her mouth with the back of her hand._

"_Hey, Jess, hon, sorry to interrupt." Danny smiled, using his "pet name" for Jess that he always used just to get a rise out of Flack, who rolled his eyes, "I just gotta tell Flack something." he stated crouching down so he could see both of them through the window._

"_Sure..." Jess smiled. Danny had been like a brother to her so she had to admit she was slightly nervous about what he would say after finding them making out in Don's car._

"_Yeah, Danno?" Don asked waiting for the joke that was sure to come._

"_Yeah, uh, parking lot make out sessions are great and all, but I was in your position with Lindsay about six months ago. Look at me now." Danny smiled motioning to his pregnant wife, "Just thought I would give you a heads up." Danny had to stifle his laugh when he saw how Don's face dropped and turned bright red. "See you guys inside." he called as he walked back to the laughing group putting his arm around his wife's shoulders._

_I wish I could've had the chance._ Don thought as a silent tear ran down his cheek, remembering such a great day.

Lucy wiggled in his arms and grunted until he looked down at her. Then the baby grabbed hold of his shirt and snuggled into his chest. Don just enjoyed the feeling and thanked God for his little niece.

After a few minutes Lucy started fussing as Don realized it was seven o'clock. He was surprised an hour had already passed since he woke up.

"Are you hungry little girl?" Don asked, to which Lucy grunted some more. He got up and took her into the kitchen where he could grab a bottle. They sat down on the couch and Don switched on the news while he fed Lucy. After watching some rather depressing new stories he could feel that Lucy was watching him and he glanced down at her and got lost in her again.

"I wonder how you know. Every time I need reassurance of the goodness of life, you're right there giving it to me." Don talked to the little girl as he took her into the nursery to change her.

After changing Lucy into her outfit for the day, Flack just sat on the carpet with her and played with her. After a while Don decided that they should head back to the hospital soon, so he placed Lucy back in her crib so he could get her stuff together for the day. When that was done he placed her in her car seat, using the spare Danny had given him before to lock up and head for the hospital.

As he drove, Don again, spoke to the little girl in the back seat, "Your Daddy's gonna need you even more than me, Luce. He'll need to know that you love him no matter what because these next few weeks are gonna be tough for him. Your mommy and me, and Auntie Stella, and Uncle Mac, and everyone else will be here to help him, too, but I know how happy you make him, so give him all your love. Okay?" to which he earned a giggle from the baby girl, which he took for a _yes._

_I wonder how you know._ Don thought for the second time that morning, as he pulled into the hospital parking lot.

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**A/N: I hope you liked it. R&R please. =]**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I have to admit, I'm not too sure about this chapter. In my eyes, it's sort of a filler chapter, and uneventful, but most stories have that, the in between. I hope you enjoy anyway. Thank you to all of you who have added me/the story to their favorites/alerts. Special thanks to uscrocks, BlueEyedAuthor, LME, JavaJunkie4evr, Brinchen86, Forest Angel, and megann310. On with the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own CSI:NY or any of the characters and/or storylines seen on the show.[haha I WISH!] This is done purely for the entertainment of myself and hopefully my readers; I gain no other profit from it. =]**

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Chapter 6

Through It All

Lindsay woke up to the bright sun shining through the window of Danny's hospital room. Glancing at her watch she noticed it was only 7:30 am, and physical therapy wasn't until 10. She gently got off the bed to close the curtains so Danny could get some more sleep.

_He's gonna need all the energy he can get. _She thought as she stood slightly holding back the curtain, watching the city below, _I just hope it's not too painful for him._

Lindsay knew she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep so she headed for the door to go get some coffee.

"Montana, where do you think you're going?" Danny mumbled just loud enough for her to hear, once her hand touched the handle.

The huskiness of Danny's voice as he was waking up always sent a delicious shiver down Lindsay's spine, just as the sleepy blue eyes always melted her heart. Lindsay turned around smiling at him.

"I was just going to get some coffee. Go back to sleep, baby." she explained.

"You know I can't do that without you by my side." he said as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

Lindsay giggled walking back over to his bedside, "How did you sleep all those nights before we got together, cowboy?"

"I didn't know what I was missing. Now I'm addicted." he replied smirking, "I just can't get enough of you."

"Alright, loverboy. If I lay back down with you, will you go back to sleep?" she asked.

He was torn between being honest with her and saying yes, just to get her back in bed with him, but he knew there were other ways of doing that and she always wanted him to tell her the truth, so he answered truthfully, "No, probably not. I got enough sleep already. I'm actually kinda hungry."

Lindsay couldn't hide the fact that her grin grew, "You're always hungry. Would you be okay here for about ten minutes so I can go get us some real coffee and breakfast from the place down the block?"

"Yeah, sure, that'd be great. On your way out, could you ask Nurse..." he trailed off trying to remember the nurse's name.

"Christina." Lindsay supplied.

"Yeah, Nurse Christina if I could get some more pain meds?" Danny asked.

"Of course. Are you hurting badly, hon?" Lindsay became concerned.

"No worse than last night, but I'm actually a bit more concerned that they kick in before therapy, so I'm prepared." Danny explained, trying to ease his wife's worry.

"Okay, that's probably a good idea. I'll tell her, and then I'll go get us some breakfast. I won't be long, promise." Lindsay said giving him a kiss, then turning to leave.

"Good. Don't make me come find you, Montana." Danny teased.

Lindsay threw him a smile over her shoulder before closing the door behind her.

Danny had to admit he was a bit worried about therapy this morning. The pain hadn't been bad so far, but he also hadn't tried to use his legs much. He was also afraid that the doctors could be wrong; that he wasn't going to make a quick recovery. It was so hard for him to believe that he could be part of that one percent; that he could be so lucky. He didn't want to voice any of these concerns in front of Lindsay because he didn't want to scare her. He was determined to overcome this, if not for himself, then for her and Lucy. He wanted to make them proud and show that he could do this. Hell, Lindsay had gone for the longshot before, and she ended up with him. There was probably less than a one percent chance that they could be together, but look at them now. They were happily married and the parents to a beautiful daughter. If they could make it through everything that had happened in their relationship, he could make it through this. He would make it through this.

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door before Christina entered the room.

"Your wife told me that you wanted some more pain meds." she said making some notes on his chart.

"Yeah, that'd be great."

"She also mentioned that you wanted to be sure they would kick in for therapy, so I'm going to give you half the dose now, and the rest closer to your session so we can be sure it doesn't wear off too soon." Christina explained.

"Works for me. I just don't wanna make therapy any more painful than it has to be." Danny agreed.

"Of course." Christina said handing him the pills and a cup of water, "I'll be back in about an hour and a half to give you more. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Yeah, ya got a newspaper I can borrow?" Danny asked, needing something to keep him busy until Lindsay came back.

"Sure. I'll go grab one for you."

"Thanks." Danny said as Christina left the room.

Lindsay walked down the street to the bagel shop on the corner, lost deep in her thoughts. She couldn't help but worry that Danny's therapy would be painful. She walked into the shop and ordered a few breakfast sandwiches and coffees, figuring that Don would be arriving at the hospital soon, and wouldn't have had anything to eat since she knew they were low on groceries. As she waited for her order to be made she thought about how hard it would be to watch if Danny was in a lot of pain in therapy. She thought back to the day when he and Adam had been held hostage by the Irish drug dealers. The way he looked when they found him in the warehouse, she could see the pain deep in his eyes. It was always hard to see him in pain, and when he was lying on the floor of the bar, she was slightly relieved that he couldn't feel anything, because it meant he wasn't in pain. Now she just hoped that the pain wouldn't be too bad.

Lindsay paid for her order and headed back to the hospital. As she was walking through the automatic doors she heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, Linds, wait up." Don Flack shouted as he slowly picked up his pace, with Lucy in his arms, and her diaper bag thrown over his shoulder. "I wasn't sure what time to come back, but I'm glad to see at least one of you is awake."

"Oh, hey. Yeah, Danny's awake, too. I just went to get us some breakfast. I got some for you, too, I know our fridge was fairly empty the last time I checked." Lindsay said, carefully trading Don the coffee tray and bag of food for her squirming daughter. "Hey there sweetheart." she said to her daughter.

"Thanks. Let's get up there, I'm sure Danny's starving." Don said heading for the elevators.

"Yeah. How was she? Did you get some sleep?" Lindsay asked as she and Flack entered the elevator.

"She was great. She fell asleep on the ride home, and stayed asleep through the night, until about 6:00 this morning. I changed her and fed her, then we played for a bit, then came here. I brought the other bottle from the fridge and the container of formula. I wasn't sure how long she would be here today."

"Thanks. I hadn't even thought of that. Good thinking." Lindsay replied, as the elevator reached the third floor.

They walked the rest of the way to Danny's room in silence. When Lindsay pushed open the door, she gasped in worry.

Christina quickly stepped into her line of view, quickly explaining, "Lindsay, it's okay. Danny's in the bathroom. You weren't back yet, so I suggested that I wait here to make sure he's alright."

Color slowly returned to Lindsay's face as she saw the door behind Christina open to reveal her husband sitting in his wheelchair.

"Hey, baby. Where's the food?" Danny asked, then noticing how her face was just barely back to normal, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Lindsay quickly replied.

Don spoke up, "Except that when we got in here we didn't see Christina right away, only your empty bed, so Lindsay just about had a heart attack."

"Oh, I'm sorry, baby. I didn't mean to scare you, but I couldn't wait for you to get back. You okay?" Danny asked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Lindsay assured him as he wheeled closer to his bed. "You need some help?"

"Nah, watch this, baby." Danny looked at her excitedly as he pushed himself out of the chair and stood before sitting on the edge of the bed, then swung his legs up onto the bed.

"He did considerably well without my help. He managed to get out of bed and stand before getting into the wheelchair on his own. And I assume he did fine in there, too. As I said, I was here just in case." Christina explained.

"Wow, hon, that's great." Lindsay said, smiling brightly at her husband. Lucy squealed looking at her daddy. "Lucy's proud of you, too."

"Well, I'll let you guys enjoy your breakfast. I'll be back in a bit to prep you for therapy, Danny. Dr. Linderson will be here for your first session, also." Christina said, excusing herself.

Lindsay turned to the nurse, "Thank you so much Christina. Will you be available to come with us to therapy? I could use another woman there with me and Lucy, and I would really like it if you could come."

"Sure. I could use my morning break then." Christina smiled before she left.

Danny smiled at his wife, "You're so friendly. Seriously, you make friends every place you go."

"What? She's a nice woman." Lindsay defended herself.

"I know, she is. She's also a great nurse. It's just so cute." he smiled at his wife.

"Alright, let's eat." she said handing Lucy to Danny as she turned to Don to get the food.

"You guys are nuts." Don laughed.

The three of them sat eating their breakfast and talking about Danny's therapy later that morning. After breakfast Danny played peek-a-boo with his baby girl. Lindsay saw hope in Danny's eyes and realized then that no matter what, he would get through this. He had showed her that just with the simple task of getting up out of bed to use the bathroom. In his eyes, she realized that there was not only hope, but determination, and she was determined as well, to be his buoy through it all.

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**A/N: Please review =]**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hello ladies![and gentleman?] First off, sorry this took so long. I was busy with work and on my down time, Lola, my muse, was off getting her little biography written for my profile. I just want to say that I have never had any experience with the type of injury or physical therapy that Danny is dealing with, so if this chapter is unrealistic, I apologize. Thank you to everyone who has read this and added it/me to their favorites/alerts. Special thanks to uscrocks, Forest Angel, JavaJunkie4evr, BlueEyedAuthor, and Brinchen86. On with the chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own CSI:NY or any of the characters and/or storylines seen on the show.[haha I WISH!] This is done purely for the entertainment of myself and hopefully my readers; I gain no other profit from it. =]**

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Chapter 7

Stimulation & Motivation

A few minutes before ten o'clock, Christina entered Danny's hospital room carrying two cups.

"I have the rest of your pain medication. Once you take it we can head down to therapy. Dr. Linderson will meet us there." she explained, handing Danny the cups.

Danny just took the medicine and sighed.

"What's wrong?" Lindsay asked concerned. "You've already done great things this morning. Are you worried?"

"Honestly? Yes." Danny answered. "I stood because I wanted to and I knew if it was too hard I could stop. What if that's as good as it's gonna get? Now, I'm gonna have some big, beefy, tough guy trying to push me and I'll probably end up frustrated and pissed off."

Flack understood his friend's hesitance. He'd been through physical therapy after the explosion, and he was positive that was easier than what Danny would be going through. But even his therapy had been frustrating. He kept quiet while Lindsay looked at her husband, thinking about how to reassure him. The room was silent until Christina let a giggle slip out before clapping her hand over her mouth.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't laughing at you." Christina quickly tried to explain, "It's just that your therapist couldn't be farther from the idea you have in your head."

"What do you mean?" Danny asked, curious.

"Well, you'll see in a minute. And from what I saw this morning, Danny, you shouldn't worry. It will be difficult, but your body seems to be adjusting to the injury very well." Christina assured him, "We should head down now."

"Okay." Danny handed Lucy to Lindsay, then maneuvered himself into the chair. "Let's go."

Once in the hallway, Danny glanced down the hall, then looked up at Lindsay.

"Put her in my lap, hon." he said.

"I'm not sure..."

"It's fine. I promise I'll be careful." Danny cut her off.

Lindsay placed Lucy on Danny's lap and she looked up at her daddy with sparkles in her eyes, as if she knew what was coming next would be fun.

"Let's go for a ride baby girl." Danny whispered to his daughter, then wheeled himself down the hall towards the elevators. The other three followed him and they rode down to the second floor in silence.

When the small group entered the Physical Therapy wing, Danny looked around, shocked to see that it looked pretty much like a gym.

Lindsay, seeing the shocked look on her husband's face, spoke up, "Not what you were expecting, huh?"

"I'm not all that sure what I was expecting, but it's kinda reassuring that this is all stuff that I've seen and used before." he replied.

Danny noticed Dr. Linderson walking towards them, followed by a petite woman, who was almost Lindsay's height with long blonde hair pulled back into a messy bun. She was certainly smaller than what Danny had been imagining, but something about her walk told him that she could push him just as hard as anyone, which kept him slightly apprehensive. He just hoped she wouldn't be a hard-ass bitch, because he really wasn't in the mood.

"Hello, Danny. How are you feeling this morning?" Dr. Linderson greeted them.

"I'm good, Doc. I stood a bit earlier." Danny answered proudly.

When Christina saw the doctor's face become slightly worried about his patient not taking it easy she spoke up, "I was in the room with him, doctor, and he didn't do too much. Just one step between his bed and chair, and so on, to use the restroom. Unless, he was doing lunges in the bathroom, it wasn't anything dangerous for the injury."

"Thank you, Nurse Fenmore. And thank you for bringing him down, I can bring him back up to his room after." the doctor replied.

"Oh, I invited her to stay and chat with me, doctor." Lindsay said.

"Alright, then we've got a full house for therapy." Dr. Linderson smiled. "Oh, yes, Danny, this is Dr. Vizanno, your physical therapist."

"Nice to meet you, Danny, and your family. You can call me Rebecca." Rebecca shook hands with Danny and everyone else as introductions were made.

"You were right, Christina." Danny whispered.

Christina laughed, "I know."

"So, it works out well, that we have everyone here, because I like to use a multi-level approach with therapy." Rebecca began to explain. "The first few sessions, we'll just work on basic movement, such as standing and walking. In the later sessions we can begin to re-build the strength in your legs, alright?"

Danny nodded, "But how does that involve everyone here?"

"Well, there are multiple ways to stimulate and motivate your body, especially when we work on walking. While you will be between the bars taking steps, I want Lindsay to sit with Lucy against the wall across from the bars, so that you can see them, and use that to motivate yourself to get to them. However, I want Christina to serve as a distraction for Lindsay so that we can focus your mind elsewhere, other than communicating with her. Don is going to be in charge of occupying your mind."

"But he's not as interesting as her." Danny stated.

"Ha-ha, Messer." Flack replied.

Rebecca smiled, "Maybe not, but he will be able to stimulate your mind by pushing you with a bunch of different topics to talk about. Even teasing works because from what I see, you will be thinking your best comebacks. If we give you motivation, you can walk. If we also stimulate your mind with something other than the pain, it will be easier for you to walk. Dr. Linderson and I will be focusing on the movement and reaction of your body to this exercise."

"Wow. Okay, let's try it." Danny seemed enthusiastic, and at the smiles he was receiving from everyone, he hoped that this would turn out better than expected. _Maybe I won't end up frustrated and pissed off._

Everyone moved to the spots they would be in to partake in their part of therapy. Lindsay was sitting across the wall from the end of the support bars, with Lucy and Christina. Flack was on Danny's left side. Rebecca was on his right side and Dr. Linderson was behind him, the two doctors paying most attention to Danny's movement.

Flack began talking with Danny about the Yankees and the play-offs. Danny was glad, because he knew he could get lost in this discussion. Anything to distract him from the burning he felt, at that moment, in his hips. Danny glanced down at his legs.

"Look up, Danny." Rebecca said, in a soft but firm voice. "Keep your eyes focused on your wife and daughter, and your mind focused on the question Don just asked you. Do not pay attention to the pain."

"What'd ya say, Flack?" Danny asked, looking back up at his wife, catching her eye before she looked back at Christina, who was holding Lucy.

"Who do you think the National League team will be in the World Series?" Don asked.

"The Phillies." Danny stated, knowing he would get a rise out of Flack, and hoping for it.

"What?! You think they'll beat the Dodgers? No way."

"They're doin' good, buddy. I know you hate them and stuff, but they've got the fight in 'em to make it happen. They want a repeat."

"If you go with that reasoning, you're sayin' they've got the fight in 'em to beat us!"

"Well, then, we need to get our shit together, cause we need to be good enough to overpower their fight!" Danny raised his voice. Rebecca smirked at the argument between the two friends. The stimulation-motivation plan was working; Danny's eyes hadn't left his wife again.

"Yeah, we'll see." Don gave up on the argument, his mind already changing gears. "Danno, where are we gonna watch the games?"

"Whaddya mean?" Danny was confused, "Where'd we watch 'em last year?"

"Sullivan's." They both realized at the same time.

"The search for a new bar just became a whole lot more urgent." Don stated. With that, the conversation lulled and Danny began to notice the extreme burning in his hips again, but he looked up and noticed that Lindsay was now standing right in front of him.

"You did it, baby." she smiled signaling to the bars.

Then Danny realized he had already gotten to the end. He looked at Rebecca. "Can I sit now? It really burns."

Seeing the pain in his eyes, Rebecca quickly agreed and brought his chair over to him.

"You did extremely well for your first session, Danny." she encouraged as he eased himself back into his chair. "It's great that you have such a support system, and it really made my job easier." she smiled.

"Thanks, Rebecca." Danny turned to thank his friend and saw that he was still lost in his thoughts, "Don, stop thinking about bars for a sec, will ya?" he teased.

"Yeah, yeah." Don mumbled.

"Actually, I may have an answer for that little problem of yours. My husband's family owns a restaurant & bar. It's called MDV's Pub. It's over on East 50th and Lexington. You guys should stop in for the game on Friday." Rebecca suggested. "Oh, and it never gets really crazy over there so I'm sure bringing Lucy would be fine. I always have my son with me when I go."

"That's really nice of you. Maybe we will stop by." Lindsay said, smiling.

"Yeah, but right now, I'm exhausted. Are we done here?" Danny asked.

"Yes. You'll have another session tomorrow, but I won't need to be here for that." Dr. Linderson explained. "But I will see you tomorrow to examine you before you are released."

"Alright, thanks, Doc. And I'll see you tomorrow, Rebecca." Danny said wheeling himself towards the elevator.

"Okay, see you guys then." she replied.

Once in the elevator with Flack, Lindsay, Lucy, and Christina, Danny turned to Lindsay. "You made another friend, babe."

"Is that a problem?" Lindsay laughed.

"No, actually, I was gonna ask if we can go on Friday."

"Yeah, pretty please, Linds?" Flack chimed in.

"We'll see." Lindsay answered, then turned to Christina, "I told you they were like little boys."

Christina and Lindsay laughed as the group headed back to Danny's room.

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**A/N: Please review =]**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Okay, first I want to apologize for the amount of time in between updates. I work at a Pub/Grille in South Jersey, so with the Phillies in the World Series, work has been crazy. I also want to apologize because this chapter isn't long, so sorry if it's not worth the wait. I'm working on a few more chapters for reserve so this doesn't happen again. Thank you to those of you who are sticking with me, and to those of you who've added this to their favorites/alerts. Special thanks to JavaJunkie4evr, Brinchen86, and BlueEyedAuthor.**

**Also, I've been considering changing the rating to T for the moment and if I decide to add M rated chapters I can label them that way? What do you guys think?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own CSI:NY or any of the characters and/or storylines seen on the show.[haha I WISH!] This is done purely for the entertainment of myself and hopefully my readers; I gain no other profit from it. =]**

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Chapter 8

Worrying The Night Away

The majority of that first day was spent relaxing. Danny was extremely exhausted from the effort he had put into physical therapy, but also very happy. He was relieved that his body handled it as well as it had.

As exhausted as Danny was, he couldn't fall asleep later that night. Flack had left with Lucy a few hours ago, and Lindsay was currently curled into his side sound asleep.

Danny, however, was busy thinking. He was thinking about how things would change when he went home. Sure, he was doing great here, but hospitals are set up to make things easier for patients, real life isn't. He thought about the amount of people walking down the sidewalk in the city who wouldn't even consider making way for another person. Then there was their apartment, which luckily had an elevator, but there were Lucy's toys littered around the entire apartment, creating obstacles. Danny was worried that in the wheelchair, he'd be completely helpless with those obstacles.

Danny was pulled out of his thoughts by the light touch of a finger on his cheek.

"I thought you were tired." Lindsay said.

"I was but I can't sleep." Danny explained looking at his wife.

Lindsay leaned up to kiss his temple. "What's going on in that head of yours?"

"Ah, nothin', baby. Go back to sleep." Danny said looking away.

Lindsay gently turned his head so he was facing her again, and looked into his bright blue eyes. "I love you, you know that. But you can be so dense sometimes, hon."

"What?"

"How many times do I have to ask you to talk to me? I thought we were past that."

"Montana, we are. It's just I was worryin' about stuff, and I know what you're gonna say." Danny explained.

"Oh really? You're psychic? What am I going to say?" Lindsay asked with a slight smirk.

"You're gonna tell me not to worry about everythin' and it'll all be okay. But I just need to think about this stuff because pretty soon it gonna be somethin' I've gotta deal with."

"Danny, you're forgetting two things. One, I don't even know what it is you're worrying about because you tried telling me that nothing was going on in your head. Two, I'm the queen of worry. Now, please tell me what you're worrying about." Lindsay said.

Danny pulled himself and Lindsay into a sitting position before he started to talk.

"I'm worried about leavin'. I mean, I wanna go home, I do. But I was thinkin' about all the obstacles out there. I'm not used to bein' in a wheelchair and I know there's stuff that I'll need to deal with."

"Like what, baby?"

"Like in our apartment, Lucy's toys are everywhere."

"Hon, you make it sound like our apartment is an enormous mess. Yes, Lucy's toys litter the apartment, but it's not so bad that you won't be able to get around. Besides, it's time for me to clean the apartment anyway."

"Alright, what about the kitchen?"

"What about it?"

"I won't be able to get anythin' out of the cabinets. And I can't cook for you while I'm in the chair."

"Baby, how long are you planning on being in that chair? I can get stuff from the kitchen for you, and if you would rather do it yourself we can relocate the cabinets you would be using. As for food, I can cook, or we can order in." Lindsay tried to reassure Danny.

"I guess." Danny still didn't sound convinced.

"Danny. I'm not going to tell you you can't worry because worrying is a normal thing. But these worries are unnecessary. I will do everything in my power to make things easier for you. And you are not some sort of helpless cripple. You are only going to be in that chair for a week and while you are in the chair you will adapt to it because that's who you are."

"I guess you're right." Danny replied

"I guess? Baby, you know your wife's always right." Lindsay teased.

"Alright there, Montana. Don't let the ego get too big." Danny tickled her side and she squirmed.

"Danny! Stop! Stop!" when he stopped, she smirked at him, "Would like for me to retaliate the way I usually do?"

"Not the time or place, baby." Danny answered, smirking back.

"What? The door locks and the blinds close, no one will catch us."

"As temptin' as that is, Montana, I'm thinkin' we shouldn't until I'm one hundred percent."

"Wow, I never thought I would see it. Danny Messer turning down sex."

"I'm not turnin' it down; I'm just postponin' it."

"Are you in pain?" Lindsay became worried.

"No, baby. If we did it now, I would be at your mercy, and I know how much teasin' comes with you bein' in charge. I'm not sure I could take it."

"Oh, then maybe I _should_ retaliate. That sounds like fun." Lindsay said, smirking again.

"Ay, none of that. That's not nice, baby." Danny pouted.

Lindsay gasped, "Not the puppy dog face. Oh, baby, that's not fair. Okay, okay, the next time we have sex will be when you are one hundred percent and you can have complete control." Lindsay laughed at the huge smile she received from her husband.

"Oh, that's gonna be fun. I love you, Lindsay." Danny said, kissing her sweetly.

"I love you, too, Danny." she replied, "So, are you feeling better now? No more worrying about the little stuff?"

"Sure."

"Now, there is something I am worried about. And his name is Don."

"Linds, it's only been two days."

"I know, and it's not so much how he is handling it, because right now he's just being there for you, and that's great. I'm more worried about where it's going from here."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're getting out of here tomorrow, which I'm sure, means you're going back to work. That means I'm going back to work and Lucy will be at day care. What's Don going to do? I think it's too early for him to go back to work."

"So? He's a big boy, he can handle himself."

Lindsay slowly started to smile, "So I was thinking that if he's going to sit around the apartment all day, then by the time we get home he'll be bored, so maybe we could..."

Danny chuckled, "Why couldn't you just tell me that you want to go to MDV's Pub to hang out with Rebecca?"

"Oh, what a great idea!" Lindsay exclaimed, "We should invite the team. And Christina."

"Alright, sounds good. The World Series starts on Wednesday. Dependin' on what Rebecca thinks, maybe I could use the cane instead of the chair for just that part of the night?"

"We'll see. I'm kind of excited."

Danny chuckled again, "Any chance to make new friends, right?"

"Yup."

"Alright, after all this talking, I think I could sleep now. How 'bout it?" Danny asked.

"Sounds good, baby. Sweet dreams." Lindsay kissed him goodnight.

The couple fell asleep in each others arms, all of their worries put on hold.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hello ladies! Here's another chapter and as you can see I bumped down the rating on this story. If I decide to write an M rated chapter I will label the chapter specifically. Thank you to everyone reading this story and everyone who has added the story/me to their favorites/alerts. Special thanks to BlueEyedAuthor and Brinchen86 for your sweet reviews. Enjoy! =]**

**Disclaimer: I do not own CSI:NY or any of the characters and/or storylines seen on the show.[haha I WISH!] This is done purely for the entertainment of myself and hopefully my readers; I gain no other profit from it. =]**

**Warning: spoilers for 6.01 Epilogue**Chapter 9

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Reading People

The next morning Danny was awakened by the feeling of a half-empty bed and a soft knock at the door of his hospital room.

"Come in." he said. "Hey Mac. How's it goin'?"

"Good. I brought a couple visitors." Mac said stepping through the door with Stella right behind him holding Lucy. Stella walked over handing Lucy to Danny and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey baby girl. Did Auntie Stella and Uncle Mac steal you from Uncle Don?" Danny cooed to his daughter.

"No. We went over to see how he was doing and he asked if we could bring her over here. Said he had some stuff to do. So here we are." Stella explained, "Not that we weren't going to come see you anyway."

"Oh, a'right. You guys see Lindsay on your way in?" Danny asked, trying to forget about the possibilities of what Don could have to do.

Stella answered, "Yeah, she said to tell you she went to get breakfast and she'll be back in a few."

"Cool. Hospital food is horrible."

"So how are you feeling?" Stella asked.

"Not pushing yourself too hard, I hope." Mac added.

"I'm doin' good, actually. Therapy went good yesterday, and I have another session in a couple hours then they're releasin' me around one. Then, it's into the lab. Speakin' of..."

Mac cut him off, "We got 'em. So you're not needed into work until tomorrow."

"Ah, Mac. I swear you speeded things along just so there would be nothin' for me to do when I get outta here today." Danny teasingly complained. "So, what was the deal? Was that bastard targetin' us?"

"No, we had a woman come forward on the tip line and she said that her brother and his friends didn't know what they were getting into. It was some scheme to get the city to pay them. She tried to stop them; she was in the bar. But her brother wasn't in the car and his friends didn't recognize her." Mac explained.

"So, it was just a bunch of kids in over their heads, tryin' to make a quick buck. They had the bad luck of pickin' a bar full of cops." Danny thought about it, and he was angry, but he was also thankful. He was thankful because this meant no one was targeting him or his family. They were just caught in the cross fire of a couple of kids who didn't realize the trouble they were getting themselves into.

"Yeah, stupid, huh?" Stella said. "But then again, I'm glad it wasn't a personal attack."

"Exactly."

The door to Danny's room opened then, and Lindsay walked in carrying a tray of coffee and a brown paper bag.

"Breakfast is here. I got you guys some, too." Lindsay said to Mac and Stella.

"Thanks, Linds." Mac said.

"Hey, baby. They got the people who shot up the bar. Just some confused kids. No ones out to get us." Danny told his wife.

"Oh, wow. Am I allowed to be happy about that?" she asked

"Yes, kiddo. We all are." Stella replied.

"So what happened?" Lindsay asked.

Mac explained everything to Lindsay. While he and Lindsay were talking Stella noticed that Danny got really quiet. She thought about saying something to him, but decided not to put him on the spot. Danny had always been reluctant to talk about his feelings. Luckily, that seemed to change somewhat during his relationship with Lindsay. Sure, he was still a private person, and didn't talk to her much, but Stella could see that he was at least talking to someone. She was sure he would talk to his wife about whatever was bothering him.

Danny had always been the type to hold stuff in, which made him a very emotional person. When you never completely talk about your emotions, they build up. Stella had seen it multiple times with him. He would hold everything in, then when something big would happen, he exploded and did something he would regret. The explosion would suppress the emotions for a while, but since he never talked about it, it was just a matter of time until the next explosion.

It had happened with the Minhas shooting. Then there was a straight month or two when the explosions just kept coming, when Louie was beaten up and Aiden was murdered. In that same month, Stella was attacked and Flack and Mac were blown up. When Stella thought about the fact that Danny hadn't really exploded when she was attacked or when Flack was severely injured, she realized that there was only one reason. Lindsay. Danny had once told her that Lindsay was extremely effected by what happened to Stella, and that he had to calm her down. And when Flack and Mac had been inside that building, Lindsay had been outside and was slightly injured. Danny hadn't exploded in either situation because he wanted, he needed, to be there for Lindsay.

Then, the explosion of all explosions. Ruben Sandoval. The explosion wasn't manifested in anger, as it had with the Minhas shooting, or tears as it had with Louie, or even a mixture like with Aiden. It had happened as one colossal mistake. Danny had shut himself off from every person except one, and sadly it wasn't Lindsay. Stella knew what had happened with Rikki because both Lindsay and Danny had each come to her to talk. Danny and Lindsay's relationship was one that made you believe in fate, true love, soulmates, all of it, because somehow they managed to get past it all. After Danny faced the idea of losing Lindsay, he'd changed. And there hadn't been an explosion since.

Stella couldn't help but think that Lindsay had made a lot of things better ever since she joined their team.

"Uh, Stella... hello..." came the voice of the exact woman she had just been thinking about.

"Oh, sorry."

"It's fine. What're you thinking about over there?" Lindsay asked curiously.

Stella instantly began to stammer and Mac took that as his cue, "Probably about all the paperwork we still have to do on the case. We should probably head out."

"Uh, yeah. Thanks for breakfast, kiddo." Stella said standing up.

"Oh, I wanted to ask you guys. We're goin' out to watch Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday. You in?" Danny asked.

"I'm in." Stella said. "And I'll see if I can get him there, too. Just let me know where." she pointed to Mac, "Take care of yourself. We'll see you tomorrow." she said, bending down to give Danny a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, bye."

"Bye, Lucy." Mac kissed his goddaughter before he turned to leave.

"Oh, and Mac?" Danny called as Lindsay said bye to Stella. "Did Flack say what it was he had to do?"

"No, but he said he would be here before you were discharged. Why?"

"Oh, just wonderin'. See ya later."

"Bye, Danny."

After Mac closed the door behind him Lindsay walked over to Danny's bed and sat down next to him.

"You worrying about Don?" she asked.

"Kinda."

"Why?"

"I have this feelin' that he's goin' to his apartment. I told him we could send Adam and Hawkes to get some of his stuff. I just think that if he didn't want Lucy with him, it's got something to do with Jess." Danny explained.

"Did he say something to make you think that?" Lindsay asked.

"He told me there were a lot of things she never knew, that he wanted her to. And there were things he regretted."

"But that doesn't mean he was going to do something having to do with Jess today. Maybe he just wanted to run some errands and figured it would be easier if Lucy was here."

"Then why didn't he drop her off?"

"Because Mac and Stella were on their way. Why do you think?"

"I think that he knew I would see what he wanted to do and try to talk him out of it. Don's my best friend, he's like a brother. I don't think he's ready to go back to his place. And I kinda wanted to be there for him when he did that."

"I know, hon, but what can you do? If he wants to go back, he's going back." Lindsay said, trying to comfort her husband. "And you wanting to be there may be why he wanted to go today."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry to say this, but maybe he doesn't want you there. You know Don doesn't like showing emotion just as much as you, and you already saw him cry a few days ago."

"Who cares if I see him cry? We're best friends."

"But has he seen you cry?" she asked.

"I don't understand why that matters." Danny replied.

"I'm not going to pretend this makes a whole lot of sense but here it goes. In Don's eyes, you've been through just as much as he has in the past few days. But the difference is, you were injured and he wasn't. And yet, he's falling apart and here you are, strong as ever, fighting your way through."

"But I haven't been through as much as him. This injury doesn't even factor into the equation for me. And sure, I loved Jess, we all did. But he was in love with her. I'd be fallin' apart, too, if I lost you."

"I understand that. But in Don's mind, because of how much of a family we all are, his love doesn't outweigh ours. So, again, he feels that you've been through just as much, and yet, he hasn't seen you cry. So, he can't bear to let you see him being, as he sees it, weak."

"Don Flack is in no way weak."

"I know that. I'm just telling you what he feels."

"And how do you know all of this, Montana. Are you a mind reader?" Danny asked.

"Nope, a people reader. How else was I supposed to get through to you? I needed to know what you were thinking. You know, back when you wouldn't talk to me."

"I get it. But, so what am I supposed to do? Cry in front of him?" Danny asked.

"No, not unless you need a good cry. Just talk to him. Explain to him how you see the situation, and how it's perfectly fine for him to be falling apart. As long as he lets us help put him back together. Because that's what family's for." Lindsay said poking Lucy's belly for emphasis. The baby giggled.

Danny pulled Lindsay down for a kiss, then just held her in his arms, with their daughter in his lap.

"You're a wise woman, Lindsay Messer. I love you."

"And you're a good friend, Danny Messer. I love you, too."

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**A/N: I hope you liked it. Please review! =]**


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